Validation of Smart Garments for Physiological and Activity-Related Monitoring of Humans in Harsh Environment

A set of garments capable of monitoring the physiological, activity-related and environmental parameters of emergency operators during their interventions was developed in a European Project called ProeTEX. This work reports the results of the field trials performed with the final prototype release at the APT international Fire Fighting Survival Training Centre in Italy. Four sessions of trials (warm-up, rescue intervention, outdoor fire-fighting intervention and smoky chamber route) were performed in harsh environment by 6 professional firefighters. The operators wore the ProeTEX prototypes and their Heart Rate (HR), Breathing Rate (BR), Body Temperature (BT), External Temperature (ET), Heat Flux (HF) and GPS speed have been acquired. Percentage of samples out of the physiological range (R%) of the HR, BR and BT, as well as percentage of samples showing high variability (V%) of the HR, BR, BT, ET and HF have been processed. Percentage of GPS samples showing artefacts of their ground speed (S%) have been also computed. The results on the HR, BR and BT signals showed a maximum R% of 2.0, 7.8 and 8.5 respectively, as well as a maximum V% of 14.0, 10.0, 0.2, respectively. Concerning the ET and HH data, a V% lower than 0.0 and 2.9, respectively, was found. Finally, the highest detected value of S% of the GPS speed was 3.5 in all the trials. On the whole these results showed the efficacy of the ProeTEX wearable system and its capability of real-time and continuously monitoring the rescuers while they perform even highly intense activities in harsh environmental conditions.